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Neurological Basis of Altruism

Altruistic behavior is often seen as a hallmark of civilized person. Defined as a selfless concern for the well-being of others, or action/behavior that benefits others at someone’s own expense, altruism was, for very long time, viewed from two opposite perspectives.

Some would argue that altruism is an integral part of human nature, something that is written in our genes. Others would say that altruism is a product of civilizing influence which start to appear in human society with the development of culture and/or religion. The question appears to be mostly philosophical rather than scientific, and indeed it was mostly discussed and analyzed in philosophical and theological circles. Surprisingly, more definitive answer to this question may come from neuroscience. Indeed, recent research findings provide convincing evidences that, to a certain degree, we are biologically programmed to be good and caring of each other.

Altruism is not an exclusive domain of human culture –animals are known to be altruistic. Animals fearlessly defend their youngsters, even when knowing that the offspring belong to other members of the species. Many researchers do not view parental behavior as real altruism, though. In a more convincing experiment, scientists were giving electric shocks to a rat each time when its neighbor was eating food. The neighbor eventually stopped eating! Should we view this as an example of higher level of intelligence and brain development? Neuroscience provides a remarkable answer to this question.

Altruism and charity

In their seminal work published in 2006, Moll and co-authors investigated the human brain activity using functional MRI when participants were making decisions on charitable donations with real money. Anonymous charitable activity is universally seen as an example of pure altruism since individuals donating money can hardly ever expect any benefits, favors or financial gains come back to them.

The main theme of this experiment was to construct a map of the neural pathways involved in the decisions based on self-interests or any kind of altruistic behavior. The participants were provided with the list of charitable organizations and their mission statements, and were asked to donate small amount of their sum to organizations of their own choice so that scientist could study their brain activities. But the experiment involved an additional unusual feature: the money that were not donated would be given to participant as his/her personal monetary reward. Thus, there was a conflict between decisions to donate or to oppose the cause.

Most of the participants made consistently costly decisions donating, on average, 40% of money. Participants also took longer time making costly decisions than non-costly, showing that such decision involves moral emotions in judgment. Activity in different regions of the brain was observed according to the decision of the participant, either involving self-interest or selfless decisions.

Midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA), dorsal striatum and ventral striatum were activated by both pure monetary rewards and decisions to donate. Donating to social causes activates two regions: VTA and striatum mesolimbic network. This suggests that both donation to societal causes and money earning activate anatomical system of reward reinforcements and expectancy.

The subgenual area (Brodmann’s area 25) was highly specific for decisions involving donations. This area plays an important role in social attachments. Unlike the midbrain VTA, this area was activated in situations where monetary rewards were not expected. The ventral striatum (with adjoining sepal’s region) was seen to be more active for donations rather than pure monetary rewards. The anterior prefrontal cortex was involved in decisions purely involving the benefits of others.

Leaving this anatomical description aside, what these findings demonstrate? The areas of brain that were lighting up during altruistic donations are actually the same ancient parts of the brain that are activated in response to food, sex and material gains. The results suggest that altruistic behavioral traits are hard-wired in the brain, and they are even pleasurable.

Altruism in the pre-frontal cortex

There are many areas in the brain that are responsible for decision making and reasoning. They include the amygdala, somatosensory cortex, anterior insula and prefrontal cortex. The combined effect of processes happening in these areas influences our altruistic behavior. Some areas are more important for decision making while others are involved in empathy, the sympathy for pain and feelings for others. But the most important area of them all was shown to be the prefrontal cortex.

Recent experiments have showed that the prefrontal cortex is responsible for behavioral changes and controlling impulses. In one study, researchers aimed to find out if certain areas of the prefrontal cortex might be involved in blocking the altruistic impulses.

The study participants were subjected to a noninvasive procedure called theta-burst Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). This procedure temporarily dampens activity in specific regions of the brain, thus allowing to observe what happens when a specific part of brain is not active.

Those participants in whom the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was dampened tended to be generous to people with higher income, i.e. those who wouldn’t be in much need of handouts. And in those participants in whom the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex was dampened, there was a tendency to be more generous towards everyone. The findings demonstrate once more that altruism is really encoded in our brain. By nature, we are very altruistic indeed.

Apart from answering the deeply philosophic question about our nature and morality, neuroscience appears to suggest potential new avenues for increasing empathy. This can have far reaching practical applications, particularly for treating people who have experienced desensitizing situations, such as war experience or a period of staying in prison. I won’t be surprised if one day we will have some pills aimed at modifying our character to the better.

References

Baumgartner, T., Knoch, D., Hotz, P., Eisenegger, C., & Fehr, E. (2011). Dorsolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex orchestrate normative choice Nature Neuroscience, 14 (11), 1468-1474 DOI: 10.1038/nn.2933

Christov-Moore, L., & Iacoboni, M. (2016). Self-other resonance, its control and prosocial inclinations: Brain-behavior relationships Human Brain Mapping, 37 (4), 1544-1558 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23119

Mathur, V., Harada, T., Lipke, T., & Chiao, J. (2010). Neural basis of extraordinary empathy and altruistic motivation NeuroImage, 51 (4), 1468-1475 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.03.025

Moll, J., Krueger, F., Zahn, R., Pardini, M., de Oliveira-Souza, R., & Grafman, J. (2006). Human fronto-mesolimbic networks guide decisions about charitable donation Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103 (42), 15623-15628 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0604475103

Post SG (2005). Altuism, happiness, and health: it’s good to be good. International journal of behavioral medicine, 12 (2), 66-77 PMID: 15901215

Image via HeatherPaque / Pixabay.

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On The Pulse - April 2016

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Short bursts of intense exercise 'as good' as endurance training

"Researchers have found that short bursts of intense exercise produce similar results to traditional longer-duration workouts," the Mail Online reports.

Researchers compared two types of exercise programme over a 12-week period with a control. The two programmes were:

• a 10-minute "intense" workout, three times a week (referred to as Sprint Interval Training)
• a 50-minute moderate intensity workout, once a week

At the end of the study, they found similar improvements in reliable fitness markers in both groups, such as the body's response to insulin, peak uptake of oxygen and the functioning of muscle cells. However, it is uncertain that the changes seen would have an effect on cardiovascular disease risk and outcomes in the long term.

The study was also quite small (just 25 young men), and the results ideally need verifying in a larger trial, including a study of wider population groups, such as women and different age groups. The study showed no effect on the men's weight or body mass index (BMI), and did not include information about any adverse effects or risks.

The message that your health may benefit from a 10-minute workout is welcome for anyone who struggles to find time to exercise. However, the researchers warn that very high-intensity exercise is not suitable for everyone.

There are also questions over its safety. Famously, in 2013, the broadcaster and journalist Andrew Marr blamed high-intensity training for triggering his stroke.

If you think you are very unfit, it is probably best to build up your fitness gradually, rather than trying to go all-out straight away.

 

Where did the story come from?

The study was carried out by researchers from McMaster University in Canada and was funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and McMaster University.

The study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Public Library of Science (PLOS) One on an open access basis, so it is free to read online.

The Mail Online's headline that you only need a "minute of exercise" is a bit disingenuous, as the intervals of high-intensity exercise were within a 10-minute session, which included a warm-up and warm-down, and was done three times a week. However, the full text of the story quickly makes that clear, and reports the study reasonably accurately.

 

What kind of research was this?

This was a randomised controlled trial (RCT), which is a good way of finding out if a treatment works. Researchers wanted to know whether very short, high-intensity exercise could improve health measures as much as moderate-intensity exercise, when compared to a group who did a "no exercise" programme.

 

What did the research involve?

Researchers recruited 27 men (two later dropped out) who did little exercise and whose average age was 27. They matched them for similar age, BMI and peak oxygen uptake. They were then randomly assigned to either high-intensity sprint interval training (SIT), traditional moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT), or to a control group which was not given an exercise programme.

They carried out a number of tests on their cardiovascular and metabolic health at the start, during, then again after they finished the 12-week programme. They then compared results of the two exercise groups to the control group.

The tests included:

• peak oxygen uptake (VO2 peak), measured through a mask worn while cycling on an exercise bike – high oxygen uptake shows the heart and lungs are working efficiently
• insulin sensitivity index (CS1) measured by monitoring how quickly the body clears glucose from the blood, after it's been infused into a blood vessel – poor insulin sensitivity can lead to type 2 diabetes
• muscle mitochondrial content, measured by taking a muscle biopsy – mitchondiral content gives an indication of how efficient the muscle is at using energy

Both exercise programmes were carried out using exercise bikes and included a two-minute warm-up and three-minute cool-down, cycling at low intensity. For the SIT programme, men cycled three 20-second bursts of "all out" effort, separated by periods of two minutes of low-intensity cycling, adding up to 10 minutes in total. For the MICT programme, they cycled for 45 minutes at approximately 70% of maximal heart rate, adding up to 50 minutes total.

 

What were the basic results?

Both exercise groups improved on the three tests, while the control group did not show much difference on any test.

Maximum oxygen uptake improved by about 19% for both exercise groups. Insulin sensitivity improved by 53% for men in the SIT programme and 34% for men in the MICT programme, while the measure of mitochondrial content in muscle cells rose 48% after the SIT programme and 27% after MICT.

None of the men showed much change in their weight or BMI, although body fat percentage decreased for men on either exercise programme.

 

How did the researchers interpret the results?

The researchers said their study showed that a weekly exercise programme of 30 minutes, including three minutes of intense intermittent exercise, was as effective as 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity, continuous training on three measures of cardiovascular and metabolic health.

"Considering that a large number of individuals do not meet the current physical activity recommendations, there is value in exploring the potential benefits of exercise strategies that involve reduced time commitment," they say. However, they warn that, "this type of exercise requires a very high level of motivation and is clearly not suited for everyone."

 

Conclusion

The idea that a 10-minute workout could have the same benefits as spending 45 minutes in the gym is tempting. The researchers found it may improve specific markers of health, in one group of young men.

However, this is a small study in a specific population, and we don't know whether it would have comparable effects in older people or women. Also, we don't know the long-term effects of this type of training programme on people's health.

Studies that look at the effects of an intervention, whether it's exercise, diet or medicine, on health measures such as insulin resistance and oxygen uptake, can only give us a short-term, partial picture. What we really want to know is whether an intervention will reduce your chances of having a heart attack or stroke, or of getting diabetes, or dying earlier. Unfortunately, that information can only come from very long-term studies, which are expensive.

One gap in the study is assessment of safety or negative effects of this type of exercise. High-intensity exercise has been linked in the media to the risk of stroke, especially after broadcaster Andrew Marr suffered a stroke shortly after completing an intense session of exercise.

This study doesn't report any adverse effects, nor does it address safety issues. It is probably too small and of too short a duration to be able to detect any. Ideally, some comparison of the risks of strokes or heart attacks with different types of exercise would be needed. However, this would require a large trial and with long enough duration to identify differences. 

There's no doubt that most of us need to do more exercise than we do, and that exercise has many health benefits. If you're concerned about the safety of a new exercise programme, it's best to talk to your doctor. You might need to start slowly and build up the amount and intensity of exercise you do, especially if you already have a medical condition. 

Government guidelines recommend that adults in the UK should do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, as well as exercise to strengthen muscles. Read more about health and fitness.

Links To The Headlines

Is a MINUTE of exercise all you need? Researchers find 60 seconds of hard work in the gym can be as beneficial as a 45 minute endurance session. Mail Online, April 28 2016

Links To Science

Gillen JA, Martin BJ, MacInnis MJ, et al. Twelve Weeks of Sprint Interval Training Improves Indices of Cardiometabolic Health Similar to Traditional Endurance Training despite a Five-Fold Lower Exercise Volume and Time Commitment. PLOS One. Published online April 26 2016

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Fulfilling Our Unique Humanity

Maslow, Rogers, Satir and Erickson are just some of the scholars who have shaped and will continue to shape a core psychological paradigm – humanism.

In this article, I elaborate on the optimal conditions necessary to become the best persons we can possibly be. Some psychologists refer to this ultimate state as self-actualization. I call it the optimal phenotype. I will also expound on the core features of what it is like to become self-actualized, as per Maslow.

Genetic underpinning is only a part of who we are. Genes create possibilities. Our internal and external experiences have more to do with the structure of our autobiography.

Getting our biopsychosocial needs met consistently and met over time is an important accomplishment. We need to experience essential survival needs, needs for safety and security, of affiliation and affection, for recognition and approval, to be in place before moving towards self-actualization.

According to Erickson, achieving mastery at each of the nine psychosocial developmental levels is another significant achievement. We learn to: trust others, show autonomy, demonstrate initiative, form an identity, realize intimacy with others, show generativity by serving others, and experience integrity and transcendence at the end of our days.

Those who eventually realize self-actualization evidence four common qualities. One, they have several, very close friendships as opposed to many “friends” on the varied social internet sites. Secondly, they are intrinsically motivated as opposed to some who seek external rewards for their actions. They experience a clarity about who they are and not in the world. Finally, periods of intense joy and contentment are frequent.

We all have an opportunity to be and do the best we can, and the end result is absolutely amazing!

Image via Unsplash / Pixabay.

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Brexit threatens vital investment, infrastructure, and collaboration, they warn Related items from OnMedica Cancer Patient Bill of Rights launched in Europe Clinical research Revisions to EU data protection Hunt says Brexit would be a threat to NHS Brexit could end our strategic influence on science policy, warns Lords report

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State of US health: black health up, teen pregnancies down

A report on health in the US finds that people are living longer, racial disparities are improving, but suicide, heroin use and ADHD are on the rise via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..

Obesity 'explosion' in Chinese youth

Levels of obesity in China's rural youth have rapidly increased, a study warns, because of socioeconomic changes. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..

Animals may be fed manure-bred maggots to make meat sustainable

An EU ban on the use of insect larvae in feed for farmed salmon, pigs and chicken may be relaxed after study concludes that it is safe via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..

Prescription monitoring system to curb drug abuse in Australia

Real-time monitoring for drugs like OxyContin, morphine and Xanax is intended to enable doctors and pharmacists in Victoria to curb addiction and offer help via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..

Sleeping away from home? Half your brain is still awake

People often struggle to sleep their first night in an unfamiliar room, which might be because the left brain remains vigilant for threats via New Scientist - Health Read More Here..

Nipple-Preserving Mastectomies Appear Safe for High-Risk Women

Preventive breast surgeries with nipple intact don't raise breast cancer risk, researchers report

Source: HealthDay
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Pharmacists Can Manage Some Chronic Conditions Effectively, Study Suggests

But it's not clear if they could reduce symptoms more or help you live longer than your doctor can

Source: HealthDay
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Music Might Give Babies' Language Skills a Boost

Small study suggests an effect, but just how long it may last is unclear
Source: HealthDay
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Babies Fed Rice-Based Cereals Have Higher Arsenic Levels, Study Finds

To avoid potential harm, experts recommend consuming a variety of grains early in life

Source: HealthDay
Related MedlinePlus Pages: Arsenic, Infant and Newborn Nutrition via MedlinePlus Health News Read More Here..

Bed Bugs Drawn to Red and Black Colors

Critters strongly prefer those bedroom hues to green and yellow, study found

Source: HealthDay
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Certain Cancers Seem Less Likely for Kids of Hispanic Moms Born Outside U.S.

Analyzing immigrant population can help identify tumor causes, researcher says

Source: HealthDay
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E-Cigarette Ads May Help Lure Teens to The Habit

Researchers, experts call for ban on such promotions, much like what happened with tobacco cigarette ads

Source: HealthDay
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Focus on Healthy Foods, Not Avoiding 'Bad' Ones, for Heart Health

Fewer heart attacks, strokes and deaths seen among those who follow Mediterranean-style eating plan

Source: HealthDay
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More Kids Being Poisoned by Detergent Pods

Parents of young kids should not have these products in the home, experts say

Source: HealthDay
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Temporarily Turning Blue Sometimes Normal for Babies, Doctors Say

American Academy of Pediatrics refines guideline on what's called a 'brief resolved unexplained event'
Source: HealthDay
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Hospitals 'coping with all-out strike'

Hospitals in England are coping well with the all-out strike by junior doctors - the first in the history of the NHS - health bosses are reporting. via BBC News - Health Read More Here..

Hunt asks GPs to work harder during juniors’ strike

Hunt’s ‘exhaustive’ strike plans: asking GPs to extend their hours for non-emergency care Related items from OnMedica Striking out Doctors set to for all-out strike as accusations fly BMA launches contract legal challenge Lift imposition and we’ll call off next week’s strike, junior doctors tell Hunt Hunt ‘never planned to insist on changes to existing contracts’

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Only a quarter have access to needed mental health services

NAO finds that meeting the standards will be ‘a very significant challenge’ Related items from OnMedica £10m plan to boost community mental health Nearly one in four children denied access to mental health services in England All women must have access to perinatal mental health service Falling suicide rate linked to improving NHS mental health care Guidance to reduce stigma in mental health services

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